[ker_01]

I'm in Puerto Rico (work trip) and would like to bring a handful of plants
back with me to Michigan (Mango, Avacado, etc- all fruit trees).

I contacted APHIS by email and was told that they consider Puerto Rico a US
state (it is actually a US Commonwealth, but for USDA purposes it is treated
as a state). They have no problems as long as I don't have endangered
plants, and the plants are clean of pests and transported without soil.

I contacted the Michigan Dept of Agriculture to make sure they wouldn't have
any problems with the import. They indicated that fruit trees are not
regulated (they have a list of noxious plants, and a list of vegetables you
can't import into the state). All good so far.

I asked the workers at the USDA inspection station at the Puerto Rico
airport on my last trip if they had any concerns about bareroot fruit trees
headed to Michigan, and they said that there shouldn't be any problem.

I'm buying the plants from a government nursery, but the department I'm
buying them from expressed two rules/concerns that I hadn't heard from any
of the above, and I'm wondering if anyone has specific experience and could
help me understand what I should be prepared for when I show up at the
airport with my plants;

(1) I was told that there is a new regulation (went into effect in the last
week or so?) that limits the number of plants I can take through in my
baggage. I'm probably still under any reasonable limit (I'm thinking of
maybe 6 plants total). I checked the APHIS website but didn't see any
postings for new regulations about quantity of plants

(2) The APHIS fruit & plant import list actually lists the requirement as
"plants without soil" and I had originally been told that there were other
non-soil mediums that could be used to help retain moisture during
transport. Also, I ordered plants from a Puerto Rico commercial nursery
several years ago and recieved them shipped in a soil-free medium. I'm now
being told that I can't/shouldn't use any medium and just carry the plants
completely bareroot, because the APHIS inspectors will just remove any
medium anyway (or possibly not let the plants through).

Does anyone have recent experience personally transporting plants from
Puerto Rico, or anyone on this list from APHIS that could help me understand
what to expect?

Many thanks,
Keith